


Mercy

by elynne



Series: The Warden's Path [3]
Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Danyla, Gen, Quest, Werewolf (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-09 00:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/449114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elynne/pseuds/elynne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many kinds of mercy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mercy

“Please – I beg you, end it! Fulfill your promise!”

For a moment, nobody moved. Natalia didn't quite look at her companions, but from the corners of her eyes she could see them looking away. She drew her sword and stepped forward. Behind her, Leliana murmured something inaudible, and she could hear the rattle of armor as Alistair shifted uneasily.

She'd been trained with a blade, and the last few months had turned that abstract into reflexive reality. Natalia knew precisely where to cut for the fastest, cleanest kill. Looking into the desperate stare of the werewolf crouched before her, she felt her own face harden, all expression lost. A single thrust of her sword cut off the elf-turned-wolf woman's life.

Instead of pulling her blade back to let the body fall as she had learned to do, she held on, letting the dead weight drag her to her knees. Lifeblood spilled into the dirt, churning to filthy mud beneath them. Danyla kept her head up, looking into Natalia's eyes as pain turned to joy, then the light behind them stilled forever, her head finally dropping to the ground. 

Natalia stayed there, kneeling next to the body, unable to stand up and face her companions. Numbly, she wished that she'd brought Sten, or Zevran, or even Morrigan – they wouldn't understand, but she would have been able to use their cynical pragmatism as a crutch until she could come to terms with what she had just done. She knelt in the mud, imagining the horrified looks that Leliana and Alistair would surely be wearing, expressions that mirrored the ugly stain she felt creeping across her soul.

A hand on her shoulder made her flinch. Natalia almost shrugged it off, before realizing it wasn't a mailed glove that touched her, but a simple leather one. Skirts rustled beside her as the elderly mage used her staff for balance and crouched down.

“You have never knowingly taken an innocent life before,” Wynne said. Natalia let out a strangled grunt and turned her head, but the mage wasn't looking at her, instead staring at the furry body that lay cooling on the ground below. 

“You feel that you will bear the taint forever,” Wynne continued, her quiet voice nearly empty of emotion. “You knew, and you made the choice. Motivated by pity or pleading, it was still your hand on the hilt, your action that ended her life.” Now she looked up, catching Natalia's stare. “I can't give you wisdom to heal this. No platitude will seal your wound. Just know that others have made this choice before you, and that it does not make us monsters.” Natalia didn't miss the emphasis that the mage put on the word “us”.

“Let your pain draw the poison out.” Her frail hand squeezed the Warden's armored shoulder. “Do not let it fester or harden you. This is also your duty. I'm sorry... nobody should ever have to learn this, especially not one as young as you.” 

If she had seen pity in anybody else's eyes, Natalia would have crumbled, or become enraged. But Wynne's gaze held not just pity, but also sympathy... and understanding.

Carefully, Natalia got to her feet, then assisted the mage in standing up. When they were level, she hesitated, then moved forward and hugged Wynne tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered, and felt a pat on her shoulder in return. Even still twisted with guilt and sorrow, the simple knowledge that this woman who she respected and trusted, one of the most truly good people she had ever known, understood how she felt gave Natalia the strength to turn and face her companions. She gestured along the forest path, and without speaking, Alistair and Leliana nodded, then took up their positions in line to continue their journey.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the fact that in the cut scene for the quest, when you kill Danyla, you can see over your PC's shoulder that the other characters all look off to the side...


End file.
